T: A Typology of T-Shirts

In the series Not In Your Face the t-shirt is starkly evident but the photographs are not about the shirts per se. They are about identity, validation and perception. The act of wearing a t-shirt is a cry out for acceptance. Each person reveals a part of themselves that advertises their hopes, ideals, likes, dislikes, political views, and personal mantras. They wear a kind of badge of honor that says “yes, I belong to this group not the other.” It is about the marketing of differences. I have been influenced by Martin Paar and his interest in fashion as another “manifestation of social expression.” By photographing from the back, these pictures challenge the tradition of a portrait being of the face and tests whether body type, dress and demeanor can tell us just as much as a facial expression might. The back view would seemingly make these people anonymous but upon closer inspection we see their individuality emerge. After I ask the person to pose they often ask “what should I do?” I tell them whatever they want. It is their portrait. August Sander likened it to “merely assisting a self-portrait.” The compiled images document a diverse range of cultural typologies, not only in the messages on the shirts, but in hairstyles, accessories, tattoos and personal stances. This is an attempt to define a generation with a portrait that engages the viewer in a dialog about how these individuals want to be seen, and how we in fact see them.

Reviews & Interviews

“as much a sociological gauge of Western culture as it is a typological or photographic study, brilliant in its simplicity.”
–Mark Murrmann, Mother Jones